More and more people are using bicycles as a mode of transportation and as a piece of exercise equipment. Present-day bicycles can be very sophisticated, incorporating technological advances and being manufactured of light-weight materials. As a consequence they can be very expensive to purchase. Furthermore, bicycles are owned by a wider cross-section of the populace, including many people who live or work in high rise residential or office buildings. Many of these people prefer to bring their bicycles into their residence or office rather than leave them on the street, chained to a post or other fixture. Bicycles are also frequently stored in garages where they must compete with automotive vehicles for storage space. During winter months, bicycles often are stored in basements where they take up a considerable volume of storage space.
One problem with bicycle storage is the width of the handlebars, which necessitates a storage volume for the bicycle much greater than if the handlebars were not present. It is of course very inconvenient to remove the handlebars each time a bicycle is stored and to replace them the next time the bicycle is to be used. It is even more inconvenient to remove the handlebars when the storage time is short, as it will be when the bicycle is in constant use. One must use a wrench or similar tool to loosen the stem bolt so as to allow removal of the handlebars and then use the tool to tighten the stem bolt when the handlebars are to be reattached to the bicycle.
There are also instances in which articles or workpieces are connected together by headed fasteners, such as bolts, and in which there can be occasional requirements to loosen the fasteners sufficiently to allow adjustment or repositioning of the articles relative to each other. Examples of such a situation would include telescopic poles used by painters, extendable poles used in the cleaning of swimming pools, music stands or tripods or similar supports that must be adjusted so that the support platform thereof is level. The legs of the support might be connected together by bolts, the loosening and retightening of which for adjustment purposes is time consuming and frustrating for the operator.
Another common instance of workpieces or elements requiring sliding adjustment relative to each other is the tailstock of a lathe or the tool rest thereof. Typically it is necessary to loosen a bolt each time movement is required to reposition the tailstock or the tool rest and this becomes an irritating procedure. Often the wrench or spanner used to loosen or tighten the bolts is misplaced and extra time must be spent searching therefor before the desired adjustment can be accomplished.